3 reasons to use Audacity for great audio

The next time you're looking for a digital audio package, I suggest you consider Audacity.

Here’s why I like Audacity:
1. No cost: Open source software
2. Capabilities: Recording, editing, importing and exporting files
3. File types: WMA, WAV and MP3 among others

I used an Olympus digital recorder to capture the sounds at Dallas' M.T. Reilly Elementary School during Career Day on May 13, 2011. 

First, I asked several students to participate in making an audio movie. They were excited and after I captured the audio of them making bird sounds, they were especially interested in hearing the sounds, which I played back for them.

Screenshot of Audacity displaying audio from students

To create the edited product, I uploaded the raw audio into my Audacity software. Then I highlighted each section of audio and listened. Next, I selected what I wanted to delete, highlighted it and hit the backspace key.

Finally, I used the Effect menu to select Fade Out which I placed at the end of the final piece of audio.

Then from the File menu, I exported my finished product as an MP3.

Listen to the three students making bird sounds.